Chapter 9 — Blood on His Shirt
1543 Words
“Damian!”
Elena's voice shook as they rushed through the corridor.
Damian kept one hand pressed against his side, trying to slow the bleeding.
“Keep moving.”
“You've been shot!”
“I noticed.”
“This isn't funny!”
“I wasn't joking.”
They reached the private elevator.
Damian entered a code with trembling fingers.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
“The power is down,” Elena whispered.
Damian looked toward the stairwell.
“Stairs.”
They hurried toward it.
Every step seemed to make Damian weaker.
Elena grabbed his arm.
“Lean on me.”
“I can walk.”
“You're bleeding all over the floor.”
“I said I can walk.”
“And I said lean on me.”
He looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Damian finally allowed her to support him.
They descended two flights before the emergency lights flickered on.
Elena glanced at him.
His face had gone pale.
“Damian.”
“I'm fine.”
“You're clearly not fine.”
“It's a graze.”
“You were shot.”
“The bullet didn't go deep.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I can still move.”
Elena rolled her eyes.
“Men and their ridiculous pride.”
Despite the pain, the corner of Damian's mouth lifted slightly.
“You're talking too much.”
“You're bleeding too much.”
They continued downward.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from above.
Elena froze.
“He's following us.”
Damian pulled his gun.
“Stay behind me.”
They reached the lobby.
The emergency doors opened.
Cole and several security officers rushed toward them.
“Sir!”
Cole's eyes widened when he saw the blood.
“What happened?”
“Lock down the building,” Damian ordered.
“We already did.”
“The attacker is still inside.”
Cole immediately turned to the guards.
“Search every floor.”
Damian staggered.
Elena caught him.
“Get a doctor!”
Cole nodded.
“Already called one.”
Damian looked at Elena.
“Take her home.”
Elena immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Damian frowned.
“You need to go somewhere safe.”
“And you're coming with me.”
“I have work to do.”
“You've been shot.”
“I'll survive.”
“You're not staying here.”
Damian stared at her.
She stared back.
Neither moved.
Finally, Damian sighed.
“Fine.”
---
Twenty minutes later, they were back at the mansion.
A private doctor examined Damian in his bedroom.
Elena waited outside.
She paced nervously.
She couldn't stop thinking about the stranger.
His voice.
His ring.
The way he had spoken her name.
You should have listened to your mother.
What did he know?
And why had her father's face appeared in that photograph?
The doctor eventually stepped out.
Elena immediately approached him.
“How is he?”
“He'll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“The bullet only grazed his side. He's lucky.”
Elena released a breath.
“Can I see him?”
The doctor nodded.
“He needs rest.”
She entered the room.
Damian was sitting against the headboard.
His shirt had been removed, and a bandage covered his side.
Elena looked away.
“You're staring.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
“I was checking if you're still alive.”
Damian raised an eyebrow.
“Disappointed?”
“Very.”
He almost smiled.
Then Elena's expression became serious.
“Who was that man?”
“I don't know.”
“You know something.”
“I know he has information about your mother.”
“He called me by my name.”
“Yes.”
“How would he know me?”
Damian looked away.
“That worries me too.”
Elena sat in the chair beside the bed.
“My father had the same ring.”
“I know.”
“Do you think he was involved?”
“I don't know.”
“Damian.”
He looked at her.
“I don't want to believe it.”
“Neither do I.”
Elena lowered her eyes.
“My father is the only family I have left.”
Damian was silent.
Then he said quietly,
“You shouldn't have to choose between the truth and your family.”
She looked at him.
“Then help me find the truth.”
“I will.”
It was the first time he had said it without hesitation.
Elena nodded.
“Thank you.”
Damian looked surprised by the softness in her voice.
Neither spoke for a while.
Then Elena noticed something on the bedside table.
A small black folder.
“What is that?”
Damian followed her gaze.
“Nothing.”
She reached for it.
He stopped her.
“Elena.”
She pulled her hand back.
“Fine.”
Damian watched her.
Then he sighed.
“It's information about your father.”
Her expression changed.
“You have a file on him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I've been investigating him for years.”
“Can I see it?”
Damian hesitated.
Then he handed it to her.
Elena opened the folder.
The first pages contained financial records.
Then photographs.
Then a list of names.
Her eyes stopped on one.
Richard Hart.
Under his name was a transaction history.
Her father's company had received twelve million dollars twenty-five years ago.
The same twelve million her mother had later placed into her private account.
Elena's hands trembled.
“Damian…”
“I know.”
“This money came from your father.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother moved it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That is what we need to find out.”
Elena turned another page.
There was a photograph of her mother entering a bank.
The date was two days before her death.
“Why didn't you show me this before?”
“I didn't have the full file.”
She looked at him.
“You're lying.”
Damian frowned.
“How?”
“You knew.”
He didn't answer.
“You knew about the twelve million before tonight.”
“No.”
“Then why were you investigating it?”
“Because I knew money disappeared.”
“But you didn't know where it went?”
“No.”
Elena looked back at the file.
“Then why does this page say otherwise?”
Damian's expression changed.
“What?”
She pointed to the bottom of the page.
There was a handwritten note.
The money was transferred to Elena Hart.
Damian stared at it.
His face went completely still.
“Where did that come from?”
“It was already there.”
He took the folder.
“This wasn't in my file.”
“What do you mean?”
Damian examined the paper.
“The handwriting.”
“What about it?”
“I recognize it.”
Elena's heart began pounding.
“Whose is it?”
Damian looked at her.
“Your mother's.”
---
Later that night, Elena stood alone in the blue room.
She had returned without telling Damian.
Her mother's letter was still in her hand.
She read it again.
Trust no one completely. Not even your father.
Elena looked around the room.
There had to be more.
Her mother wouldn't have hidden everything in one box.
She searched the desk.
Nothing.
She opened the drawers.
Empty.
Then she noticed the fireplace.
There was a small metal plate beneath it.
Elena crouched.
She pressed it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was another envelope.
Her name was written on it.
Elena — Open only when you are married.
Her heart skipped.
She tore it open.
There was only one piece of paper inside.
If you have reached this point, then you are already married to Damian Cross.
Elena's hands trembled.
That means they have found you.
She continued reading.
There is one thing you must understand.
Damian was never your enemy.
Elena stopped.
Her heart pounded.
But there is someone close to you who has been lying since the night I died.
Her eyes widened.
The next sentence was written in darker ink.
Do not trust the man who calls himself your father.
Elena's breath caught.
She read it again.
Then again.
Her father.
The man she had trusted her entire life.
The man who had begged Damian for mercy.
The man who had warned her to stay away from him.
Could he really be the person her mother had warned her about?
A noise came from behind her.
Elena spun around.
The blue room was empty.
Then her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
YOU FINALLY FOUND THE LETTER.
Elena's heart stopped.
Another message arrived.
NOW ASK YOUR HUSBAND WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR MOTHER THE NIGHT SHE DIED.
She stared at the screen.
Then a final message appeared.
BECAUSE DAMIAN WAS THERE.
Elena slowly lowered her phone.
For the first time, a terrible thought entered her mind.
What if Damian hadn't been trying to protect her from the truth?
What if he had been hiding his own part in it?
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